Kissing Contest
by RainbowBrite64
Summary: Noah Puckerman is willing to do whatever it takes to win tickets from the radio station to the Bon Jovi concert on Valentine's Day. Luckily for him, Rachel Berry is willing to do whatever it takes also.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **So I shouldn't be writing another story while I've got _The Art of Seduction_ still in process, but I heard about this type of contest on the radio today and couldn't **not** do it. I'm hoping to get it all finished by the end of the 14th! In my Glee universe: Puck and Rachel never dated, Puck and Quinn are not interested in each other, Rachel and Finn are not interested in each other, and the baby belongs to Finn/Quinn.

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**Wednesday, February 9****th****, 2010**

Puck rarely got excited about anything. However, this morning, on the radio, he heard that the local radio station would be giving away front row seats and backstage passes to an upcoming Bon Jovi concert. He would kill for those tickets. Unfortunately, that wasn't what the contest involved. Basically, in honor of Valentine's Day, the radio station would be holding a kissing contest on the 14th and the couple that lasted the longest would win the tickets. Ten couples would be selected from pre-screened video entries to be interviewed and then five couples would actually participate in the contest. There was just one problem. The contest was open to actual couples only and while Puck could certainly find more than one girl willing to kiss him all day, he doubted he could find one that he would want to pretend that he was in a relationship with. After all, if they won, he'd have to attend the concert together. He barely liked to even _talk_ to the girls he made out with much less spend actual time with them.

Later that day in a specially-scheduled Glee practice, Puck explained his predicament to Finn, who knew what a huge fan Puck was of Bon Jovi.

"Dude, well Quinn and I are a couple. Maybe we can do the contest thing and then you and I can use the tickets."

Quinn, who was sitting next to him with her swollen feet on a chair and her hand resting on her pregnant belly, frowned at him. "_Sweetie_, rewind there for a second and listen to what you just said."

Finn thought for a second. "Oh, um, yea maybe that wouldn't work…"

Puck just sighed as rehearsal began. He didn't realize that a certain petite brunette had overheard his entire conversation.

After rehearsal and everyone else had left the practice room, Rachel Berry cornered him and stood before him with hands on hips and a determined expression on her face.

"I love Bon Jovi", she said with conviction.

Puck took one look at her and began to adamantly protest. "No, no. No way, Berry!"

"Why not? Am I that repulsive to kiss that you would sacrifice the opportunity to meet the incomparable _Jon Bon Jovi_?"

Actually, that wasn't the reason. She drove him crazy, but Berry was hot and he would totally make-out with her all day. Right now, however, she stood in front of him with a distraught expression on her face.

"_Rachel_. You don't get it. This is for couples only and we'd never be able to convince…"

"Well that is just unacceptable and discriminatory. My fathers are members of the local ACLU and I can make a call…"

"Chill, Berry. I mean the contest is open to same-sex couples too, so like I don't think they're trying to discriminate against anyone."

"Oh, well, I do approve of that. Well then what's the problem?"

"We hate each other half of the time, Berry. How are we supposed to convince an entire radio station that we're like in love?"

"Exactly! Hate is a passionate feeling. Clearly then we have passionate feelings for each other. All we have to do is convince other people that these feelings are positive."

Puck took a moment to think. She was hot. She was willing. She could hold her breath for a really long time. And if she truly liked Bon Jovi, then perhaps it wouldn't be torture to sit through the concert with her.

"All right, I'm in."

Rachel jumped up and down clapping her hands together and then threw her arms around Puck. He awkwardly gave her a pat on the back because frankly, Puck didn't really 'do' hugs. Of course, he often bypassed kissing right to what he considered to be the more pleasurable activities, so spending a day kissing Rachel Berry would be unusual in more ways than one.

After Rachel finally let him out of her unexpectedly strong embrace, he said, "Really though, Berry? Bon Jovi?"

"I'll have you know that my musical interests expand far beyond the horizons of Broadway."

"Alright, well the video entry is due by midnight tomorrow. Then the interview would be on Saturday with the actual contest on Sunday. The concert is Sunday night."

"Well, we obviously need to come up with a back story for our relationship, as well as prepare the best possible video entry."

Puck cringed at the word relationship. He had worked very hard to never be in one of those so even a fake relationship disturbed him slightly.

"Finn's my boy so he'll probably help out and I know that you and Quinn have struck up some weird friendship so she'll be in too."

Three hours later, as they sat in Rachel's cotton candy-colored room, Finn and Quinn weren't sure whether they should be frustrated or amused about their decision to help Puck and Rachel as they watched the interaction in front of them.

"Hold my hand", Rachel demanded.

"I don't hold hands, babe. I'm a badass!"

"How are we going to be perceived as a couple if you won't even hold my hand?"

"Can I slap your ass instead?", Puck questioned as he moved into Rachel's personal space.

Rachel stood her ground. "You are such a miscreant."

"If miscreant means ridiculously hot badass, then obviously yes I am."

"On the plus side, the sexual tension is obvious…", Quinn interrupted.

"Excuse me?", Rachel responded. "There is no sexual tension between Puck and myself."

"You could cut it with a knife, sweetie. Plus, you totally said the other day that you thought Puck was hot."

"Not really helping, _Quinn_", Rachel hissed as she moved in Quinn's direction.

Puck smirked and sauntered closer to Rachel. "Is that right, Berry?"

"No, no…you see, Quinn misunderstood what I was saying. I was simply commenting on the symmetrical nature of your facial fea…"

For once in her life, Rachel was made speechless. Puck grabbed her by the waist and pulled her flush against his body. One hand drifted dangerously close to her butt, while the other moved upwards towards its destination.

"Puck, what are you doing?", Rachel whispered breathlessly.

"What do you think I'm doing, babe…holding your hand."

"Oh", Rachel said looking down and realizing that Puck was indeed holding her hand, which was pressed against his chest.

"Okay, _now_ this is fun!"

With Quinn's amused comment, Puck and Rachel seemed to remember that they had an audience and sprung apart.

Rachel put as much space as she could between herself and Puck as she reached for her notebook.

"I think I've come up with a pretty convincing back story for our relationship. I figured it would be easiest to simply take real-life events, such as us both being members of Glee, and just weave our relationship into them."

"Whatever, Berry", Puck said…though his mind was more occupied with what exactly he had done a few moments ago. _Why did I grab Berry like that?_

"I figure we can use tonight to plan out our video and then actually film it tomorrow after school. Would you be able to help us with that, Finn?"

"Sure thing, Rachel."

"I get to do the costumes!"

"Um, Quinn, I thought we would just wear what we normally wear", Rachel answered.

"But you have to wear coordinated outfits!"

"Oh hell no, Q. Ain't gonna happen."

"Why not, Puck? You've never been in a relationship so you don't know the first thing about making this video a success!"

"Okay, Puck…Quinn…calm down", Rachel interrupted. "How about we talk about some other aspects of the video? I thought we could sing a duet together in the video since this is part of our 'how we got together' story and it would also likely be unique compared to the other videos."

Grateful that Rachel interceded before Quinn attacked him (pregnant Quinn was kind of scary…), Puck simply nodded in agreement.

They all spent the rest of the evening making plans for the video before ordering pizza and watching a movie together. Quinn and Finn cuddled on the couch, while Rachel sat on the other end of the couch. Puck ended up sitting on the floor leaning against the couch. At one point during the movie, he shifted and his neck ended up resting against Rachel's bare leg that was curled up on the couch. Neither of them moved. Both pretended to not notice their proximity to the other, but they both knew the other one noticed.

**Up next:** Filming the video…


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Wow! Thanks for all the reviews on this one. Glad you're excited about the story. I'm realizing that this probably won't be finished tomorrow because I don't want to present sub-par material...

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**Thursday, February 11****th****, 2010**

Rachel was innocently walking through the hallway after acquiring a hall pass during her 1st period class to go to the ladies facilities when she was unceremoniously yanked into the storage closet. She was about to scream in terror when a calloused hand covered her mouth.

"Chill, Berry. It's me."

Once he was sure she wouldn't scream, he released her from his grip.

"And what is the meaning of pulling me into this storage closet?"

Puck smirked slightly. He usually had only one meaning for pulling a hot girl into a storage closet, but that was not the reason for this particular occasion. Of course, Rachel didn't need to know that right away…

"Oh, you know, Berry, I guess I just missed you", he stated while stalking closer to her, eyeing her like a lion eyes its prey.

Rachel immediately became flushed as Puck came closer, though she couldn't be sure if it was from discomfort or the other far-more-disturbing feeling of attraction.

"State your real reason for grabbing me, please."

"Alright, alright. Well, I just realized that other kids will probably be listening to the radio station on Sunday so unless we want someone calling in and saying we're not a real couple, we're going to have to convince everyone that we've been secretly dating for awhile."

"Puck! That is absolutely genius. I can't believe I didn't consider the fact that people are quite aware that we're not actually dating. How will we pull this off?"

"Okay, well Quinn and Finn are already on board, but do you think that we can get Kurt and Mercedes to get some gossip running about our 'secret love affair'."

"Oh, definitely. Those two love to gossip…especially if it is about untrue things."

Suddenly, Rachel became aware of the tiny size of this particular storage closet and the fact that Puck seemed to be inching ever so nearer to her.

"Of course, if we really want to sell this, we'll have to give them a show too", he stated.

By this point, Rachel could feel the heat emanating off of Puck's defined body. _Defined? Where did that come from?_

"What do you mean, Puck?"

"Tell you what…just follow my lead later."

Gossip had been spreading through the hallway all day after Puck had set Kurt and Mercedes to their task. Finn and Quinn had been quite helpful by adamantly denying the fact that Puck and Rachel had been secretly dating. After all, a denial is a surefire way for people to believe a rumor is true. By lunchtime, the entire school was certain that Noah Puckerman and Rachel Berry were involved in a clandestine affair and had been for quite awhile. No one had confronted Puck or Rachel directly, but they both heard the whispers as they walked through the hallway. However, no one saw them in the same room until lunchtime. Rachel sat at her usual lunch table, but all eyes were on Puck as he entered the lunch room. Puck was aware that this could be considered social suicide, but he didn't care. He was a badass and as long as he had fists, his reputation would always be in good standing. He could sit wherever the hell he pleased and they could all just suck it. And so for the first time ever, Noah Puckerman sat at the Glee table. Rachel assumed that this was the "show" that Puck had been referring to. So, she sold it for all it was worth. They whispered together in quiet voices. She let Puck rest his hand on her lower back. She even let him eat off of her lunch tray. All in all, they seemed to be convincing everyone that they were indeed a couple. When Puck walked her to her locker after lunch, she assumed that it was just part of the ruse.

"Puck, this is working like a charm! Everyone totally believes that we're a couple."

"Hm, Berry, I'm not so sure about that."

"What do you mean? Didn't you see everyone at lunch? And look around us right now. I can hear the whispers of people wondering how long this has been going on."

As Rachel closed her locker, she found herself trapped against it by Puck. He had his hands on either side of her.

"Um, Puck, what's going on?"

He leaned forward and whispered languidly, "Just part of the show, Berry."

With that, he bent down and captured her lips in a kiss. Rachel wanted to push away, she really did. After all, this was practically an attack. He didn't ask permission. But she found herself responding with an intensity she had never felt before. In the front of her mind, the thought was that she must be doing this because she didn't want to ruin the illusion that they were a couple. But in the back of her mind, all she could think was how right this felt and how she just wanted to keep doing this forever. By the time that Puck's tongue was tracing her lips, begging entry into her mouth, Rachel was utterly and completely on board with the kiss. She could feel his body pressing against hers and felt as if she was melting into the lockers behind her. She felt her own hands grasp at his oblique muscles through the thinness of his t-shirt as if they had minds of their own. She felt them pulling him closer, though it was nearly impossible for their bodies to get any closer, and part of her was frightened that she seemed to have no control over her own body. She heard a guttural moan come from Puck when she pulled him closer to her and was amazed at her ability to elicit such a sound from a guy who had certainly been around the block a few times. It was only when she needed air that she pulled away and her mind finally registered the whispers around them. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Puck staring into her eyes with his usual smirk in place, yet an unfamiliar hunger in his stare. The bell rang and students began to rush off to class. Rachel was willing to be late for her next class because she needed to give Puck a piece of her mind.

What _was _that?", Rachel hissed with indignation in her voice.

"We had to give them a show, Berry! Besides, what's the big deal? You better get used to that because we're going to be doing it all day on Sunday."

Rachel hated that her first thought was '_is that a promise?' _

"Well, I would've been prepared on Sunday. I was not prepared right now!"

"Oh, don't pretend you didn't enjoy it. We both know you did."

"That's not the point."

"Sure it is", Puck called over his shoulder as he sauntered down the hallway.

Rachel frowned. He was simply incorrigible. Finally she yelled to his retreating form, "Yea, well you enjoyed it too!"

A few hours later, Rachel was lying on her bed venting to Quinn about what had happened in the hallway.

"Can you believe he just did that? What nerve he has! Who does he think he is? What _are_ you laughing at?"

"I'm sorry, Rachel. It's just that you're probably the first girl to ever complain about Noah Puckerman kissing them. And you do realize that there's a lot more of that coming up this weekend, right?"

"Yes, that's been made abundantly clear..."

"Rachel…is it possible that you're so annoyed about the kiss because you actually liked it? Or maybe you like _him_?"

Rachel was ready to respond that she absolutely did not like Noah Puckerman, but was pre-empted by the entrance of said person and Finn into her room. She leapt off her bed and into business mode immediately.

"Okay, so based on what we decided yesterday, we'll start with us talking to the camera about our relationship and then Finn will take candid shots of us singing together and making dinner together and doing other stuff."

"Other stuff, Berry? I thought we were going to save that for our next video together…"

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response."

"You just did, babe."

Before things could take a turn for the worst, Finn interjected. "Okay, I've got the camera set up."

Puck and Rachel got seated in their positions. Quinn had somehow convinced them to wear colors that at least complemented each other, though they did not match.

"Action!"

"Hello. I am Rachel Berry and this is my boyfriend Noah Puckerman. We are huge fans of Bon Jovi and would be ecstatic about the opportunity to compete for a chance to meet the band. Noah and I…"

"Cut!", Puck interrupted.

"You can't say 'cut'. Finn is the director. Only he can say cut."

"Why are you calling me Noah? My name is _Puck_."

"Do you really think your own girlfriend would call you 'Puck'? If we were really dating, I would call you Noah."

Puck shuddered outwardly, but secretly kind of enjoyed the fact that Rachel had thought about what she would call him if they were actually dating. He spent a moment reflecting on the many ways that he could make Rachel call out his name before agreeing to continue to shoot the video.

As much as he hated to admit it, Puck actually enjoyed making the video and by extension spending time with Rachel. After talking to the camera about their enjoyment of Bon Jovi and how they got together after they both joined Glee club, they basically just hung out while Finn taped them. They did some homework together, made spaghetti together, and worked on music together. Puck found that he enjoyed Rachel's singing even more when it was just her singing with his guitar accompaniment. Knowing that the deadline was fast approaching, they spliced together the best segments. As a stroke of genius, at the last minute, they quickly arranged and performed an acoustic version of Bon Jovi's _It's My Life_.

_This is for the ones who stood their ground  
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down  
Tomorrow's getting harder, make no mistake  
Luck ain't even lucky, gotta make your own breaks_

It's my life  
And it's now or never  
I ain't gonna live forever  
I just wanna live while I'm alive

As she sang the lyrics with Puck, Rachel thought to herself that she had never anticipated this sort of thing happening. As much as she loved Bon Jovi, she had never actually performed one of his songs. Yet here she was with this boy whom she had spent freshman year avoiding and the first half of sophomore year just trying to not hate him. Hate was the furthest emotion from her mind and body right now. It was funny the way that life worked…

**A/N:** Yea, so I realize there isn't actually that much of the video in this chapter, but I ended up going in a different direction. Up next should be the events of Friday, but I'm not sure what's going to happen. Maybe I'll have a Glee club viewing of the video…that way we get to see what it looks like and get some external reactions to what's going on between Puck and Rachel…not sure…


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I don't love this chapter, but here it is...dedicated to those of us for whom this is just another Sunday. ;-)

**Friday, February 12****th****, 2010**

Rachel Berry was not one to sleep-in late. However, there was no school today on account of it being President's Day weekend. Her alarm rang at its normal time, but she just couldn't make herself get up to exercise. _One day off won't kill me. _And so she drifted back to sleep where she dreamt of winning Tony awards and being interviewed by Barbara Walters and attending movie premieres and making-out with Noah Puckerman. _Woah…what's going on? _That particular dream woke her faster than any annoying alarm could. Before she even had the chance to process what the dream meant, she heard the doorbell ringing. She ran down the stairs and flung open the door. Standing before her was a pissed-off Noah Puckerman flanked on one side by Mercedes and on the other by Kurt. Tina and Artie were behind him.

"Beyonce and friends want to see the video", Puck said with annoyance dripping from his voice.

"Excuse me?"

"They decided that since they helped us by spreading rumors about us secretly dating, they get to see the video."

"How did they even know there was a video?"

"One guess."

"Quinn…"

"Yea, and she's right behind us with Finn…she wants to be here too."

Kurt pushed his way past Puck and into Rachel's house, with Mercedes, Tina, and Artie close behind him.

"It could be worse, Puck."

Puck lifted an eyebrow in response.

"They could have asked to be _in_ the video."

Puck smiled and Rachel was surprised at what a nice smile he had…she normally only saw him smirking.

"That is very true, Berry. Did we wake you up? I'm surprised…I would have thought that Rachel Berry was up at dawn."

"Well I usually am up by 6:00 every morning for my work-out, but I decided to skip it today."

"Yea, I try to run before school every day…at least when the weather lets me."

"I really should run outside more often. I know that it provides the optimum cardiovascular workout. We should run together sometime!"

Rachel wasn't sure what possessed her to ask Puck to go running together sometime. It's just that they were having such a _normal_ conversation about something they had in common. She thought for sure he would just scoff at the idea of doing something together once this concert thing was over, but he actually didn't.

"Sure, Berry, sounds good."

Puck had been surprised yesterday when he had actually enjoyed spending time with Rachel. He had spent most of high school torturing the girl, but now here she was helping him out…with self-serving motives too, of course. And the thing was, despite his claims to the contrary, he knew that what was perceived as their hating each other could also be perceived as playful banter laced with sexual tension. And somehow, the idea of running with her sometime in the near future just didn't sound so terrible.

Rachel ran upstairs to get dressed and everyone got settled around the television. Finn and Quinn arrived with the original copy of the video in hand. By the time, Rachel had brought out snacks and they had popped the video in, it really became more like background noise...to the relief of the video's stars. Puck, Artie, and Finn were discussing the latest video game, while Mercedes, Rachel, and Tina were talking about possible new songs to propose to Mr. Schu. Only Kurt was really paying attention to the video. He saw them doing homework together and Rachel looked so proud when Puck was finally able to figure out a difficult problem. Then they were making spaghetti and Puck was dipping his finger in the sauce and putting in on Rachel's face. She was protesting, but laughing at the same time. Then, they were singing together, but it wasn't like the few times they had been partnered in Glee. It seemed more intimate and raw…like even though this was on film, they truly felt like they were the only two people in the world at that moment. Kurt stared at the scenes unfolding before him with wonder. He knew Rachel could act, but this seemed so real. And while Puck was being his usual self, his edges seemed softer. And then he saw _it_. Rachel was yammering away at the camera with a final conclusion statement about why they should be selected to participate in the contest. And Puck was just watching her with a genuine smile on his face. Then, he pressed a soft kiss on her hair at the side of her head. She turned to look at him with a huge smile on her face. It was just so obvious that they were into each other. Kurt tore his eyes away from the television in search of someone else who had seen what he had seen. No one seemed to really be paying attention, but then his eyes landed on Quinn. He arched an eyebrow and she acknowledged his silent question by mouthing "I _know_". Quinn whispered into Finn's ear and though he looked confused, he seemed to understand what it was she was asking him to do.

So in a little while when Puck went into the kitchen for more snacks, he was followed by Finn at the insistence of Quinn.

"Um, dude, don't take this the wrong way but when did you get to be such a good actor?'

"What the hell do you mean, Finn?"

"It's just that on the video, Quinn said that you look at Rachel kind of like adoringly and in the candid parts, you look at her when she doesn't realize it and it looks like you're actually having fun."

"What can I say? I really know how to sell it."

As Puck re-entered the living room, he overhead a conversation starting about whether they would be able to convince the radio station that they were a real couple.

"Well, they obviously have chemistry", Artie stated. "I mean didn't you all see that kiss in the hallway. Wow."

Puck rounded the corner and his eyes immediately fell on a red-faced Rachel sitting on the couch.

He narrowed his eyes in Artie's direction.

"Dude, you're not so scary now that you're one of us."

"Watch it, Abrams. I can still find a port-a-potty to throw you in."

Artie had the decency to look legitimately scared until a voice spoke up from behind Puck.

"He's just kidding, Artie. Noah wouldn't do that."

Puck whirled around, prepared with a sarcastic "Really, Berry", but once he saw the genuineness on Rachel's face, he instead said softly, "Yea, I wouldn't…"

Once he recovered, he then added, "I'm still a badass though."

"Well, _obviously_ you're a badass", Rachel replied.

Suddenly Rachel's phone rang. "Hello. Yes, this is Rachel Berry. We did? That's wonderful! 1pm tomorrow. Yes, we'll be there. Thank you so much!"

Rachel hung up the phone and squealed. "We made it to the next phase!"

She threw her arms around Puck's neck and this time he was prepared for a hug. He picked her up and spun her around the room.

"We've got to get you prepared for the interview tomorrow. I mean, they'll probably ask you tons of questions about each other and your relationship."

"Yea, you probably don't even know each other's favorite color."

"Pink", said Puck immediately.

Rachel turned to him surprised. "How do you know that?"

"He's right? Wow."

"Well, she wears pink a lot…so I just figured…", Puck said somewhat defensively. It's not like he really pays attention to what Rachel likes.

"Okay, Rachel…what's Puck's favorite color."

"Black", she said definitively, then seeing Puck nod, she added, "…you know, because he's a badass."

"Wow, okay, so maybe you know more about each other than we thought. Still, we should help you prepare as best as we can."

So, for the next few hours, the Glee club members helped Puck and Rachel try to figure out what the judges might ask them during their interview tomorrow. After everyone finally left, Puck lingered behind.

"So, um, Berry, you wanna go running tomorrow morning so we can keep preparing for this interview thing."

"Sure! Should I come to your house…at 9?"

"Sounds good."

Puck headed towards the door to leave, but when he was about halfway there, he turned around suddenly.

"Did you forget something, Puck?"

Moving swiftly across the room, Puck grabbed Rachel by the waist and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Rachel squeaked in surprise when he deepened the kiss, but then melted into him. Just as quickly as he started it, Puck ended the kiss.

Rachel opened her eyes slowly. "Um, I, um…what…"

"Just making sure we get our practice in, Berry…"

"Practice makes perfect", Rachel whispered as she put her fingers to her lips and watched Puck walked out the front door.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay. Thanks for reading!

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**Saturday, February 13****th****, 2010**

Rachel woke up with a nervous feeling in her stomach. She attributed it to their interview later in the afternoon. Yet, her mind was more focused on the time that she would spend with Puck this morning. She didn't know why she was feeling so nervous. She saw Puck all the time…though this would be their first time spending time together alone. Not that it really mattered that they were alone, of course. It's not like anything would happen. Still, at the same time, part of Rachel was still reliving the moment the previous evening when Puck had kissed her. It hadn't made sense. The kiss on Thursday in the hallway was to prove to people that they were a couple. _What was last night's kiss meant to prove?_

Puck hadn't been able to sleep at all last night. He kept thinking about that kiss he shared with Rachel. He didn't know what had possessed him to initiate the kiss, but he just knew that he hadn't wanted to leave her house without kissing her. And now this morning, he worried that it would be awkward during their run and during their interview. They couldn't afford to come off as anything but a young couple in love during the interview. Of course, maybe he wasn't wrong when he labeled the kiss as 'practice'. Perhaps, it was really just helping them get accustomed to kissing each other. After all, if they wanted to pretend to be a couple, they should be used to doing that sort of thing. _Yea, just keep telling yourself that._

Rachel arrived promptly at 9:00am at Puck's house. Puck swung open his door to avoid Rachel waking his little sister. The kid was way cranky if she was woken before double digits on the weekend. His jaw dropped at the sight of her. She was casually dressed with her hair in a ponytail and no obvious sign of makeup on her face. And yet, somehow, she looked amazing. Puck wasn't sure why he was so overcome, but figured it was because she usually dressed so strangely that it was odd to see her in normal clothes.

"Good morning, Puck? How are you on this lovely day?"

"Jeez, are you like super-happy all the time…even this early in the morning?"

"Well I figure why waste time being upset or angry when you can just find something to focus on to make you happy?"

"Little too philosophical for me at this hour, Berry. How about we run now and debate the merits of Nietzsche later."

Rachel simply smiled because who would have thought Puck could name a philosopher. She had a feeling that there was a whole lot more to Noah Puckerman than he presented to the world.

Puck and Rachel began their jog and found that luckily, they tended to run at a very similar pace. After some silence, Rachel decided to use this time to find out more about her fake boyfriend.

"So, Puck, tell me about your family."

"Not much to tell. Dad walked out awhile back, so it's just me and my mom and Sarah. Sarah's a great kid though. She's only seven, but she is super-smart and funny as hell. My mom's pretty awesome too…she works really hard though and I feel bad sometimes that I can't do more for her."

"I'm sure she appreciates your efforts to help her and your sentiments to do more."

"Huh, Berry?"

"I just mean that it's obvious that you love her and I'm sure she knows that."

"Well, yea, of course, she's my mom. You _have_ to love your mom. I mean you must love _your_ …oh…sorry…"

"Don't be! I have two wonderful fathers. I couldn't ask for more. Though I admit that at certain times it would've been nice to have a female presence in the home."

"Yea, I know what you mean…but the opposite, you know."

"It must have been tough for you, Noah…without your dad…"

"Yea, well, why waste time being upset or angry when you can just find something to focus on to make you happy?"

Rachel smiled and they locked eyes. An intense moment of understanding passed between them until Rachel broke the silence.

"It must be nice having a sister. It gets kind of lonely as an only child sometimes. And I know Dad would've liked to have another child. Daddy and I have similar personalities and interests, but Dad is completely different. He'd actually like you a lot…he's really into sports. That's why I'm such a huge Buckeyes fan!"

"Wait, you like football? I've never seen you at one of our games."

"Yes, well, the Ohio State football team does not throw slushies at me, so I am more inclined to attend their games."

Puck immediately stopped jogging. He felt like such an ass. Then, he looked up and saw that Rachel was chuckling while jogging in place. She smirked at him while he shook his head. Strange as it may seem, they both knew that for them that was 'I'm sorry' and 'You're forgiven'.

Suddenly, Puck yelled out, "Race you back to my house".

Rachel sputtered as she chased after him, "What? No…you didn't warn me…hey, come back here! Puck!"

Many blocks later, Puck dashed into his house with Rachel fast on his heels. They collapsed side-by-side on the living room floor. After a few seconds, Puck peeled off his shirt in an attempt to cool off. Rachel did _not_ ogle…or at least that's what she told herself. However, the smirk on Puck's face implied that he noticed her looking (_not_ ogling!) at his naked torso and was pleased with her reaction. She was still lying flat on the floor, but he was propped on his elbows. He placed one palm on the other side of her body, leaning slightly over her as he looked at her in a way that no one had ever looked at her before. Rachel found it suddenly more challenging to breathe as Puck pushed the pieces of hair that had escaped from her ponytail out of her face. Puck began to lean down hesitatingly, waiting for her to meet him halfway. Rachel raised herself on her elbows. She moved closer and closer, until…

"Noahhhh, where _are_ you", a voice echoed from the top of the stairs.

Rachel was startled as she pulled away from Puck, while he was just frustrated at his sister's amazingly bad timing.

"Down here, squirt."

A little brunette dashed down the stairs and threw herself into her brother's arms. Rachel smiled to herself as she watched Puck's affectionate behavior with his sister.

She finally stood up and faced Puck, who was holding his sister upside down by her ankles.

"Thanks for the run, Puck. I should head home to get ready so we can get to the radio station on time."

Puck merely nodded in affirmation, but watched Rachel through the window as she walked away from his house and entered a jog to head home.

"Um, Noah, are you ever going to let me down. My head feels all funny."

"Oh! Sorry, kid", he responded as he let Sarah down.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, just a friend."

"She's pretty", Sarah responded innocently as she wandered into the kitchen.

"Yes, she is", Puck commented to himself.

A couple of hours later, Rachel and Puck found themselves in a waiting room at the local radio station. Rachel was clearly experiencing some nerves about the interview. Suddenly, she startled at the sensation of Puck's hand against hers.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing", he said raising their clasped hands up. "I'm holding your hand."

"Oh, but after the fight you put up…"

"Is this about the other day, Berry? I was just kidding. I was always going to hold your hand."

Rachel suddenly felt bold and whispered in his ear. "Good, because I was always going to let you slap my ass."

Puck felt his body react to this immediately, but his fantasy was quickly interrupted by the reality of a woman entering the waiting room.

"Mr. Puckerman? Ms. Berry?"

Rachel jumped up, pulling him along with her.

"Yes, we're ready!"

"Okay, well we really enjoyed getting to see you interact together as a couple on your video. Today, we're going to interview you separately to see how you talk about each other when you're apart. I'll be just a minute and then I'll see Ms. Berry first."

Rachel waited until the woman stepped out of the room before beginning to royally freak-out.

"Separately?! What if we say something that contradicts what the other of us says?"

Puck tried his hardest to calm her down.

"Rachel. We can do this. It's just like a role in a play."

Rachel smiled. "Yes, of course, you are correct. I am an excellent actress and I am certain we can execute our roles thoroughly enough for them to perceive that we are in a real relationship."

The woman returned and brought Rachel into a small office.

"Well, this will actually be quite short. We have just two questions for each of you to answer. What do you like most about Mr. Puckerman in your relationship?"

"His honesty. I really appreciate that Noah is so upfront because sometimes I think people can sugarcoat things. Sure, sometimes his honesty is brutal, but he always tells it like it is. He never lies to me…even if the lie would be less painful. He knows I can handle it. I like that most about him."

"Great. Okay, now, tell us something we would be surprised to learn about Noah."

"Well, Noah has kind of a tough exterior and he calls himself a 'badass', so most people would be surprised to see him with his younger sister. He is so sweet and kind to her. It's really amazing to see them with each other", Rachel responded in an increasingly dreamy voice.

The woman brought Rachel back to the waiting room and brought Puck to her office, issuing the same instructions.

"What do you like most about Ms. Berry in your relationship?"

"Definitely her optimism. Rachel's just always so happy about things, even when things in her life kind of suck. I'm not really like that, so it's nice to have her reminding me to look at the bright side of things. It's like a good balance, you know? And she's really determined and motivated and stuff. She keeps me on my toes…in a good way. Sorry, that's more than one thing, right?"

"That's fine, Mr. Puckerman", the woman said smiling. "Okay, now, tell us something that we would be surprised to learn about Rachel?"

"She's a huge Buckeyes fan. Rach has this beautiful singing voice and she dances and all this artsy stuff, so it surprises people that she's into college football. It's funny how intense she is about it sometimes", Puck responded with a fond smile on his face.

The woman returned Puck to Rachel in the waiting room.

"We will be making our decisions shortly and we'll be in touch. Thank you so much for coming in today."

"Thank you. We look forward to endeavors that we will enter upon together in the future", Rachel responded.

After they had made it down the hallway and out of earshot, Puck said, "What the hell did you say back there, Berry?"

"Oh, I was just placing in her mind the idea that we will meet again…because obviously the only time we'd ever see her again would be tomorrow at the contest. I am certain we will get a call from her shortly inviting us to the competition."

Puck laughed as he slung an arm over Rachel's shoulder and walked her to his car. "Yea, definitely her optimism and determination", he said to himself as he walked around to the driver's side.

True to Rachel's word, two hours later, she received a phone call inviting them to participate in the contest. So she went right over to Puck's house and upon being sent into the kitchen by his sister, she walked up and kissed him full on the lips. _If he can go around kissing me whenever he wants, then I can do it too!_

Her arms snaked around his neck as his arms pulled her body closer to his. The kiss was slow and sinfully sweet. She broke the kiss and was already halfway out the front door of the house by the time Puck recovered enough from this unexpected move to speak.

"Berry…not that I'm complaining, but was that?"

Rachel looked over her shoulder. "Practice, Puck. Had to make sure we're ready for tomorrow."

"We got in?"

Rachel yelled her response from the front yard. "We got in!"

Puck shook his head and laughed. _That girl really does keep me on my toes…_

**A/N:** Up next, the final chapter. There is a possibilty for an epilogue...depends on whether I think the story is better is with it or without it.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Apologies for the really long delay. The truth is that I lost all motivation for this story and I don't really love this ending, but I figure it's better to finish the story than leave it hanging. I owe at least that much to my readers! I have an idea for an epilogue so that should be coming soon.

**Reminder:** Puck and Rachel never dated, Puck and Quinn are not interested in each other, Rachel and Finn are not interested in each other, and the baby belongs to Finn/Quinn.

* * *

**February 14****th****, 2010**

Noah Puckerman lied often. He told his mother that he was studying. He told his teachers that he would be right back from the bathroom. He told girls that he would call them the next day. Yet, Noah Puckerman never lied to Rachel Berry. Interestingly, that was what she liked most about him.

Rachel Berry did not lie. However, she was a _sensational_ actress. And if anyone ever asks, acting is _not_ a form of lying _at all_. And so, when both teenagers awoke on the morning of Valentine's Day, they were more than ready to engage in deception for the purpose of winning the Bon Jovi tickets.

Little did they know that the entire Glee club would be waiting outside Rachel's house when Puck arrived. Quinn, Mercedes, and Tina held 'good luck' signs, while Brittany had actually brought a card. However, she had been confused as to the nature of this gathering and thus had brought a 'get well recovering from your hernia operation' card. Apparently, Hallmark's card selection had gotten very specific.

Puck shook his head in exasperation that these people seriously had nothing better to do than form a freaking parade outside Rachel's house. He would never tell anyone that he was secretly a little grateful that he had friends like these.

"We are here to wish you the very best of luck as you embark on your adventure", Kurt said with a formality more suitable to sending someone on a trip around the world.

Naturally, Rachel embraced his solemnity and responded in kind. "Thank you kindly, friends. Noah and I appreciate your support as we venture off into lands unknown."

As the glee kids began to chatter amongst themselves, Puck whispered in Rachel's ear. "Lands unknown, my ass. I think you got a pretty idea of what my land is like last night."

Rachel blushed a shade of red never before seen by Puck's eyes, but was luckily saved by Tina's comment directed towards the both of them

"I sure hope they buy you two as a couple. I mean it's pretty obvious when two people are not accustomed to kissing each other…"

"Oh, don't worry. Berry and I have gotten plenty of practice in", Puck responded accompanied by a salacious wink.

"Puck", Rachel squeaked as she smacked his arm.

Quinn and Kurt shared a look of scandalous excitement as everyone else turned to look at the car screeching up to the curb. The two guys leapt out the car and headed straight towards Puck.

"Matt? Mike? Dudes…you're seriously here?"

"What, dude? Finn told us and we're a little insulted you didn't let us in on this awesome plan. Bon Jovi is the shit!"

"Yea, sorry about that. Um, okay, Berry and I had better get going. Don't want to be late."

With that, he grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her toward the truck. Another minute of this insanity and he'd be just as batshit crazy as the rest of them.

"Oh yes, I'm sure that you wouldn't want to miss out on a single minute of kissing our beautiful little diva", Kurt yelled in a teasing voice.

The others sent out words of advice as the truck headed down the street.

"Wear chapstick!"

"Drink water!"

"If things get out of hand, think of the mailman!"

While the rest of glee club exchanged looks of surprise, horror, and in the case of Brittany, confusion, Quinn simply rolled her eyes at Finn. "How you got me pregnant, I'll never know…"

When Puck and Rachel arrived at the station, they met the other 4 couples that would be competing. There were two married couples, both of whom appeared to be in their mid-thirties. Jan and Steve and Felicia and Damon. The third couple was in their early-twenties and Puck hated the guy, Blake, immediately, but the woman, Claire, seemed nice enough. The fourth couple was Larry and Michael, whom Rachel had taken a liking to and had been talking with incessantly as they waited. Finally, the station manager came out and detailed what the day would be like. The day would involve on-air dedications, romantic songs, and listener guesses on which couple would be left standing in the end. Rachel listened attentively, but Puck only paid attention to the part where he would get to spend 50 minute intervals making-out with Berry. As far as he was concerned, those ten-minute breaks were for the other suckers.

The woman in charge of the contest showed them to a large room with various couches and chairs. Jan and Felicia immediately became excited because they decided it simply must be where all the celebrities spend their time prior to going on the radio. Puck didn't give a damn, as long as he managed to score the most comfortable couch. As he casually strolled around the room testing out couches, Rachel chatted with Larry and Michael about her Broadway dreams; Claire began to enter the conversation but Blake angrily pulled her away. As the couples got themselves situated on the couches, it became clear that this contest was not as well-organized as they had originally presumed. The woman in charge of the contest kept running in and out of the room, looking increasingly frazzled each time. Rachel paced in front of the couch.

Steve yelled fruitlessly after her as she dashed out for the fourth time. "Um, so like are we just supposed to start?"

_Screw this. _And so Puck pulled Rachel down to sit next to him on the couch and attacked her lips with his.

The other couples crinkled their foreheads and then just decided to follow their lead. So when the woman returned for the fifth time, she saw that the contest was well underway.

"Oh, okay, good, yes, um just get started. We'll be monitoring the contest and will interview you for broadcast during the breaks."

The kiss that had begun so aggressively had slowly softened. Puck was very aware that this kiss was softer and more intimate than his usual kisses. Rachel had thought that it would be awkward to be making-out with someone, especially Puck, in front of a bunch of other people. But somehow, when they were kissing, it felt like everyone else in the room had vanished and they were the only two people in the world. Same as the other couples, Puck and Rachel soon learned to pace themselves, alternating between pecks on the lips, soft and intimate kisses, and full-throttle French kissing. At minute 49, they were definitely on the full-throttle end of the spectrum. When Rachel bit down on Puck's lower lip, he wondered if for the first time ever, he'd have to take Finn's advice and think of the mailman. Luckily, he heard a whistle sound signifying the end of the round, and since whistles reminded him of Coach Tanaka, little Puck immediately calmed down. When he pulled away from Rachel, he could see that she was embarrassed by the way she avoided direct eye contact with him.

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Chill, Berry, it's not your fault that my lips are so irresistible."

Rachel glared at him and then replied with a whisper of her own. "No need to be so vain, _Noah_. I was simply tasting your chap stick. You know how I love grape."

"That I do, Berry, that I do…"

_Brilliant cover, Rachel…tasting his chap stick. Ugh, he's just so infuriating sometimes. Even if his kisses are like heaven…snap out of it!_

After a ten minute break, the couples were brought into the main part of the studio to answer listener questions about their relationships. Puck was a little disappointed to discover that there wasn't nearly as much making-out as he anticipated involved in this contest. However, Puck was really glad that Rachel had insisted on reviewing every possible aspect of their fake relationship because otherwise he would have had no clue that her favorite breakfast food was blueberry pancakes. He totally sold it though when he added that he liked all types of berries…especially his girlfriend. You could practically hear the unison of 'aww' echoing through the radio station and listening audience. On the plus side, during this part of the contest, Steve and Jan received a phone call that her sister who was six days overdue _finally_ went into labor with her first baby. Naturally, they withdrew from the competition and rushed off to the hospital. For her part, Rachel was grateful that Puck had insisted on spreading the gossip around school that they had been secretly dating for awhile. Otherwise, there might have been quite a few of their classmates calling to claim that they were in fact not a couple.

While Rachel had enjoyed learning about the other couples, Puck was eager to return to his favorite part of the contest. Unfortunately, as they began the second make-out session of the day, Puck realized that Rachel was still obviously embarrassed about earlier since she was kissing him in such a mechanical and disconnected manner. She was obviously worried about getting carried away. Puck was becoming increasingly frustrated. _Berry needs to relax. This is supposed to be fun. So who cares if she got into kissing me? I definitely was into it. Of course, she doesn't actually know that… _

Another of the couples, Felicia and Damon, clearly were not having the same problem. In fact, they were having the opposite problem…getting a little _too_ excited. They bolted from the room midway through the session despite the fruitless calls of the manager that this would result in them being eliminated from the contest.

"What the hell, Berry?"

"Whatever do you mean, Puck?"

"Can you at least pretend you enjoy kissing me? I'm starting to feel bad about myself…"

"Puck, that was not my intention. You are an excellent kisser! Honestly, I…" Rachel trailed off when she noticed the smirk on his face. _Damn him! He just tricked me into complimenting his kissing skills._

Rachel turned away from him with a verbal "hrmph" and a facial expression of equal parts embarrassment and anger.

Puck stood up to head to the bathroom, but before he left, he bent down to whisper seductively in her ear. "By the way, Berry, _you _are a phenomenal kisser."

Ten minutes later, Puck was annoyed. _I thought I'd get to make-out with Berry all day, but instead they have us doing these stupid games so they have something to broadcast._

Rachel, on the other hand, was thrilled. Although she secretly enjoyed kissing Noah, she was worried that if she wasn't careful, he would realize that it wasn't just about the kissing for her. She was starting to fall for him, but she knew that he wouldn't feel the same way.

Midway through the games, Larry received an urgent call. He was a surgeon at the local hospital and an emergency had arisen. Therefore, a third couple withdrew. Puck couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with all of these people that they clearly were not as committed to Bon Jovi as they should be.

"And then there were two", Puck whispered to Rachel as he eyed the other couple. He couldn't hear what Blake was saying, but it was obviously upsetting to Claire. Something about the way the guy acted towards his girlfriend reminded Puck of the way that his father had treated his mother. And that was _not_ good.

Much to Puck's delight and Rachel's chagrin, the next kissing session began. Puck was pleased to notice that Rachel seemed to have let her guard down a bit, but he still felt like there was a wall between them. _Why do I care so much? All the physical stuff is happening. It's not like I need her to be emotionally into this. I don't care. Oh shit…do I like Rachel Berry?_

At their next break, Blake received a phone call. Puck noticed him becoming very excited and then asking to speak with the manager. Soon after, they were all ushered into the booth for an on-air discussion. The radio deejay spoke.

"Hello loyal listeners. Excitement is in the air as we have only two couples remaining. But things are about to get even more exciting as we have received allegations of cheating."

With a smirk on his face, Blake chimed in. "I've been contacted by a kid named Jacob and he claims that you two are not a couple."

"That's bullshit. Ber…_Rachel_ and I have been dating for awhile now, but we've kept it really low-key so people at school don't know about us."

"Bullshit, man. I can totally tell that you two are not a couple."

"Well it's your word against ours!"

Suddenly Rachel interrupted. "It was one thing to lie by omission, Noah, but it isn't right to just continue this deception. It's true. We are not a couple."

"Okay, fine, so technically, Berry and I weren't dating _before_ this contest started. But as far as I'm concerned, we're sure as hell dating now. Sure, I'm a badass and she's insane and that shouldn't work but it just does, alright. I happen to really like her brand of crazy. And she beautiful and smart and really talented and she is going to be the biggest thing to come out of this lame-ass town."

Out of breath, Puck stopped his speech and realized that Rachel was staring at him with adoration.

"Noah, I have never heard you be so passionate."

Puck walked over to Rachel and took her hand. "Well, babe, it's the truth. I was wondering, um, if maybe you'd like to go on a date tonight."

Rachel leapt onto her tiptoes and pulled his head down for a passion-filled kiss. Puck considered that to be a 'yes' in response to his question.

"Enjoy your little date…because it's not going to be at Bon Jovi", Blake interrupted.

"You know what, asshole; someone should tell Claire that she is way too good for you."

Just as Blake seemed ready to lunge at Puck for his insult, Claire spoke.

"She already knows."

Blake stopped in his tracks. "Babe…?"

"Looking at them together, it's suddenly crystal clear that this relationship is not good for me. You cheat on me, you put me down, and you keep me from seeing my friends. I'm done with this. We're withdrawing from this contest because I am done with _you_."

Claire stormed out with Blake on her heels as the station interrupted in chaos. They had a pair of tickets to Bon Jovi, but four couples had withdrawn and the remaining couple should probably be disqualified! No one knew what to do. Meanwhile, Rachel and Puck were too busy kissing to notice the chaos around them. The deejay put music on while they tried to sort out what to do about the situation.

"Mr. Puckerman. Ms. Berry."

No response.

"Ahem. Mr. Puckerman. Ms. Berry."

Again, no response.

"Kids!"

They finally broke apart.

Blushing, Rachel said, "I apologize profusely."

"It's fine. We are about to make an announcement regarding the results of this contest."

"Hello listeners. We apologize for the abrupt end to our last segment. However, we are excited that this contest was the direct cause of a new relationship being formed. And isn't that the true meaning of Valentine 's Day after all? After much discussion, as well as phone calls from the other three couples who withdrew from the competition supporting this decision, we have decided that Noah Puckerman and Rachel Berry are the winners of our first annual Kissing Contest. Congratulations!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Here is the epilogue. Thanks for hanging in there for the delayed end to this story. Hope you've enjoyed this story. To avoid confusion in this chapter, pay attention to the dates, especially the last one! For those of you that are reading my other in-progress story (_The Art of Seduction_), I hope to motivate myself to continue it soon!

* * *

The concert was amazing. They had taken a limousine ride to the coliseum, were seated in the front row, and attended a personal meet-and-greet with the band after the show. It had been a magical evening…according to Rachel anyway. Puck would never use the word "magical" to describe anything. He would also never say that the kiss that Rachel planted on him in the middle of _Livin' on a Prayer_ took his breath away. It did.

**February 14****th****, 2013**

Rachel Berry stood in the wings off stage and stared out at the audience. She could hear her heart beating rapidly despite the faint dim of murmurs as the curtains opened. She knew how lucky she was to receive a lead in Julliard's musical production while still a first year student. She was ridiculously nervous and her eyes darted around the partially darkened theatre. There was still enough light to see the first few rows of people and she imagined each one as a critic that would rip her performance apart and ruin her chances at ever making it to Broadway. Suddenly her eyes met green eyes. He wasn't supposed to be there! He had a test! She would _kill_ him if he screwed up his chances at a 4.0 for the semester. Puck chuckled. He could barely see her standing behind the curtain, but he knew she was peeved. He shook his head towards the darkness and mouthed 'no' in response to her unasked question. They had been together for three years to everyone's surprise, including their own. Rachel had left to attend Julliard the prior August, but Puck remained in Lima attending community college. The distance had been challenging to their relationship, but it was still going strong. Puck had done surprisingly well for himself, so well in fact that he had received early acceptance to Hofstra University on Long Island. He told Rachel his news at the end of the show, after complimenting her profusely on her performance. She dropped every single flower she had received on the ground and flung herself into his arms.

**February 14****th****, 2015**

Finn and Quinn's wedding was beautiful. It hadn't been a surprise to anyone when they announced their engagement and decided to marry at only 21 years old. They had given the baby away for adoption, but it was an open adoption and they remained close with the adoptive parents. Little Amelia was the flower girl at their wedding. Puck served at best man and Rachel was Quinn's maid of honor. They had become increasingly close during junior and senior years of high school and remained friends throughout college. It was a strange friendship in many ways, but it worked for them. Puck and Rachel had been together for five years, but had never thought about marriage. They were young and had so many plans for the future. Rachel would be graduating from Julliard early and received a leading role in an off-off-Broadway play. Puck was to remain at Hofstra for another year, majoring in physical education. He was also a singer in the male acapella group at the university. Still, as Rachel walked down the aisle ahead of Quinn and saw Puck in her line of sight, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to walk the route in a different colored dress.

**February 14****th****, 2017**

Puck was quite proud of himself. He had gone all out for Valentine's Day this year. He made a reservation two months in advance at one of the nicest restaurants in New York. It was expensive, particularly on his teacher's salary, but it was worth it. He had bought Rachel a single red rose…because everyone knows a single red rose is more romantic than a whole bouquet. They had just finished their entrees and were eyeing the dessert cart making its way across the room. Suddenly, there was a loud squeal across the restaurant. Puck was startled and dropped the item that he held in his hand onto his lap. He was startled again when Rachel spoke.

"Don't you think it's awfully clichéd to propose on Valentine's Day?"

"Oh, yea, totally", Puck responded as he picked up what he had dropped and placed it in his pocket.

Hours later, Rachel was annoyed to be shaken awake from a deep slumber that involved dreams of brunch with Barbra Streisand and Idina Menzel.

"Noah, it's after midnight. You have to be up early tomorrow and so do I!"

"Yea, babe, its 12:01 and I have a question for you."

And this is how Rachel Berry became one of the few women to receive a marriage proposal on February **fifteenth**.

**February 14****th****, 2003**

It was the third grade…the first year that they weren't forced to give everyone in the class a valentine. Naturally, Noah Puckerman received a valentine from everyone anyway. Even at the tender age of eight, he was known to be the coolest kid in school. His father would ditch the family a mere two weeks later, but for the moment, Noah believed he truly was lucky. As he sorted through his cards, he scoffed at the ridiculous valentines. _Disney princesses? Lilo & Stitch? What is this crap?_ Eventually, Noah got to the final card in his pile. _Spiderman! Now that's what I'm talking about._ He flipped it over and was surprised to see that it was from Rachel Berry. He looked across the room at the weird girl with strange clothes who was always using big words and confusing the hell out of him. She did not seem like a Spiderman fan.

A few desks away, Rachel Berry was in deep concentration completing the extra credit assignment. The teacher had allowed them some free time to celebrate the holiday and look at their cards, but Rachel wasn't in a celebratory mood. Unknown to Noah, Rachel actually had never seen Spiderman. However, she had noticed his Spiderman binder and selected the valentine accordingly. Rachel had specially selected a unique valentine for each person in the class based upon their interests.

Noah pulled out a piece of paper from his binder and scrawled a message in messy handwriting. To Rachel. Happy Valentines Day. From Noah Puckerman.

He folded it up and tossed it on Rachel's desk as they all headed out to recess. When they returned, Rachel was confused to find a paper on her desk. She unfolded it and smiled softly. She re-folded it carefully and placed it in her folder. It would spend the next few weeks in a place of honor on Rachel's dresser between her ballerina jewelry box and junior singing competition trophy. It was the only valentine that Rachel Berry received that year.

* * *

Over the years, Puck and Rachel chased their dreams, fought and loved, raised two children, and never stopped singing. Occasionally in conversation, the topic of their first Valentine's Day together would arise. Rachel would regale the listeners with the tale of the kissing contest and their unexpected union. Puck would grunt through most of the story, but always interrupted to correct her when she misquoted his on-air declaration of feelings for her. Rachel never told him that she messed it up on purpose to get him to say it again. Puck never told her that he knew she did it on purpose every time.

On each of those occasions, they smiled to each other at the memory of their "first" Valentine's Day. Neither one remembered the day ten years earlier where an exchange of cards made Puck feel understood and Rachel feel visible. Neither realized that destiny had set its course much earlier and the kissing contest was just a mere catalyst.


End file.
